Juicing for Kids: Using Leftover Pulp in Everyday Recipes

When you’ve got lots of leftover pulp, you have two options: discard it or consume it.  For the longest time, I just threw it all in the compost bin, but now… Now, I eat it!

One of the best things about juicer pulp is that it can be used in so many ways.  Initially, I had an aversion to the idea of eating this fibrous mess. I mean, all the flavor and nutrients already came out of it, right? Wrong!

It is true that the majority of the nutrients are extracted when juicing – that’s what makes juice so healthy. But there’s a reason why whole foods are so healthy: the whole food contains benefits.  The fiber and remaining nutrients in pulp are good for you, and they taste good, too.

Our bodies expend a lot of energy mashing up and processing foods.  Think about the whole process, from chewing on down: all throughout your body, parts are moving to mash up the food.  The pulp from your juicer has already had a lot of that breaking down of fiber done, which makes it easier to digest.

The best thing is, you can add juice pulp to a lot of recipes you already make.  Just make sure to always separate your vegetable pulp from your fruit pulp, preferably cleaning out your juicer in between.  Every juicer, no matter how good, can have bits of pulp stuck on the inside that can come out later.  Trust me, you don’t want bits of tomato or radish flavoring your apple pulp. It won’t taste good later.

Vegetable Pulp

Veggie pulp can be a great addition to lots of savory dishes.  Saute it with some garlic and onion in olive oil and put it over your  whole grain pasta.  Or add it as a layer in a lasagna (I’ve done this for guests and everyone loved it).  Toss it in a soup or boil and strain it to make vegetable broth.

Both of my kids especially love the lasagna, and most kids enjoy pasta. The benefit of using the juicer pulp is that, unlike big pieces of vegetables, the small juicer pulp shreds aren’t so easy to pick out – great for getting some extra veggies into kids that aren’t such big fans.

Fruit Pulp

Fruit pulp can be added to almost anything that’s sweet, provided you remove the seeds and stems first. (Getting an apple corer/slicer is worth the $2 it will cost you on eBay.)  Try adding some extra to your morning smoothie for additional fiber.  Or mix it in with your morning oatmeal or muesli for some extra flavor.  Add some for a subtle flavor when you make vanilla ice cream.

Most kids love sweet things, and most kids enjoy fruit for that reason.  My kids like it mixed into homemade yogurt (or frozen yogurt, for a treat!).  They also really like the oatmeal.

You definitely can use that pulp from juicing. And you can probably use it in recipes you’re already making, without having to do much different.  You might even find it makes life easier.  After all, there won’t be any need to chop up apples for the morning oatmeal if you’ve got some apple pulp ready and waiting to go!

Enjoy! And please let me know how these recipes work for you!